Google Pixel 11 Pro review

An extra-bright 6.3-inch LTPO OLED display

It's hard to tell whether Google is using the same panel as on the Pixel 10 Pro, but it appears to be an updated version with slightly higher peak brightness and otherwise the same feature set.

It's still 6.3 inches in diagonal, with a 1,280 x 2,856px resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The screen also supports HDR10+, so you can enjoy HDR content on streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube. No Dolby Vision support here.

The panel is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Google claims the screen glass has gotten an extra anti-scratch coating this year that should provide twice the scratch resistance compared to the Pixel 10 Pro series.

Pixel 11 Pro

As we already mentioned, this year's Pixel 11 Pro gets a slightly brighter panel than its predecessor, and our measurements are broadly in line with Google's claims. The difference over last year is small, but measurable.

On a 75% white patch, we recorded 2,425 nits of max brightness, almost exactly matching Google's advertised 2,400 nits. With a smaller 10% white patch, that figure jumped to 3,283 nits. Google quotes a peak of 3,600 nits, though we believe they have measured that using a smaller, 5% illuminated area.

From the chart below, it's clear that Google Pixel phones are still the industry leaders in max display brightness. We still think Google could go the extra mile and add an anti-reflective coating on its displays like Samsung and Apple.

The minimum recorded brightness was 1.7 nits, which is perfectly fine for use in a pitch-black room.

Refresh rate handling

Pixels don't offer multiple refresh-rate modes in the traditional sense. Instead, you get a Smooth Display toggle that enables the 120Hz maximum; with it disabled, the ceiling is 60Hz. Either way, the LTPO panel can adapt all the way down to 1Hz.

As expected, when you're not interacting with the phone and nothing on screen is moving, the refresh rate quickly drops to 1Hz. The display also tends to match the frame rate of the content being shown, so a 24fps video runs at 24Hz, while a game running at 90fps can drive the panel at 90Hz.

Battery life

The Pixel 11 Pro comes with almost exactly the same battery capacity as the Pixel 10 Pro. Its 4,850 mAh unit is just 20 mAh smaller than last year's 4,870 mAh battery. Naturally, we didn't expect that tiny difference to matter, but we did expect the new Tensor G6 to have an impact, given Google's efficiency claims and the fact that the chip now uses one fewer CPU core.

And indeed, our testing shows a meaningful battery-life improvement over the previous generation. The Active Use Score of 15:38h is roughly in line with what Samsung and Apple manage with their current competing models. None of the three manufacturers has embraced silicon-carbon battery technology yet, though, which leaves them at a capacity disadvantage compared with many Chinese rivals.

Charging speed

The Pixel 11 Pro supports the same 30W wired charging over Power Delivery as before, and with essentially the same battery capacity, we weren't expecting any major changes in charging performance. Google promises 55% charge in 30 minutes, and we were able to match that claim - in fact, we did slightly better.

It's worth noting that Google's own 30W Pixel charger may not be enough to get the very best charging performance out of the phone. Last year, we found that Google's 67W charger was able to sustain peak charging power for longer, helping the phone reach the advertised 55% in 30 minutes. A 67W adapter is obviously overkill for this use case, but a 45W charger supporting PPS at up to 11V/3A (33W) should do just fine.

This year, the Pixel 11 series introduces a new Extreme Charging mode, which can be enabled for individual charging sessions when the battery level is below 50%. The option appears in the Battery settings after the phone has completed its first few charge and discharge cycles. Once available, it can be enabled either through a dedicated quick toggle or via a button that briefly appears on the lockscreen.

In our testing, Extreme Charging didn't increase the peak charging power - the phone still topped out at around 25.5W (9.1V/2.81A), just as it did during regular charging. The difference is that with Extreme Charging enabled, the phone sustains higher power for longer before beginning to taper.

Even with Extreme Charging enabled, a full charge from 1% to 100% took 80 minutes. That's slow by today's standards and leaves the Pixel 11 Pro near the bottom of its class for charging speed.

On a more positive note, the Pixel 11 Pro supports Qi2.2 wireless charging with magnets built directly into the phone. That means it can charge at up to 25W with a compatible magnetic wireless charger without requiring a special magnetic case, as is still the case with some competitors.

As for battery longevity features, the Pixel 11 Pro offers either a hard 80% charge limit or adaptive charging, which learns your routine and delays charging to 100% until shortly before you typically unplug the phone.

And if you want to use bypass charging to reduce heat and its potential impact on sustained performance, you can set the battery limit to 80%. Once the battery reaches that level, the phone draws only enough power from the charger to keep itself running rather than continuing to charge the battery.

Speakers

The Pixel 11 Pro features a hybrid stereo speaker setup, with one dedicated speaker at the bottom and the earpiece doubling as the second channel. As usual, the bottom speaker is a little louder and delivers more pronounced bass.

In terms of loudness, the Pixel 11 Pro is slightly quieter than its predecessor, earning a "Good" -26.5 LUFS score. Sound quality has improved somewhat, though, with a richer presentation and stronger bass. Even so, its overall tuning still trails rivals such as the iPhone 17 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S26, while the Xiaomi 17 also produces fuller-sounding tracks with stronger bass.

Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.